Visual inspection devices can be used to inspect industrial assets for wear or damage. Inspection typically requires an operator to document asset conditions utilizing still images and/or recorded video and/or measurement analyses. The documentation can include information about systems or subsystems of the asset that are damaged or require servicing. Still images and/or recorded video and/or measurement analyses can be useful, for decision makers and technicians, in scheduling repairs or maintenance. For example, historical image or video, or measurement data can help monitor equipment status over time.
Conventional visual inspections can be time consuming and error prone. For example, conventional inspection tasks are typically conducted by highly skilled technicians. Articulation paths taken by visual inspection devices can vary from one technician to the other, producing inconsistencies in the recorded inspection data. Specifically, ad-hoc or periodic manual inspections of particular assets can provide inconsistent historical data due to variations in the inspection path. Therefore, current visual inspection methods for monitoring industrial assets can suffer from a lack of standardization and reproducibility of inspection protocols.
Additionally, conventional visual inspection methods for industrial assets can be costly. A significant portion of these costs can occur when assets are taken offline to perform scheduled inspections. These conventional methods also typically require extensive training of operators, adding to the overall cost of asset monitoring.